The NEGP WEEKLY for November 30, 2000

[Negpweek <NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com>]

**** December 6, 2000 Goals Panel National Teleconference on Rising to the
Test: Meeting the Challenges of Standards, Assessment and Accountability in
Education Today.  Visit the NEGP's web site at http://www.negp.gov or call
the Goals Panel at (202)724-0078 to find out how you can get involved. ****


*****************THE NEGP WEEKLY*****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals 
and school improvement efforts across America from the 
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

Thursday - November 30, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 81
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) VOC ED STUDENTS: LEFT BEHIND BY HIGH-STAKES EXAMS? (Goal 3)
2.) VIRGINIA'S STANDARDS OF LEARNING: LOOKING FOR PROOF IN PUDDING (Goal 3)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) STUDENT ID BADGES: A SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUE (Goal 7) 
4.) INDIVIDUALIZED TESTING: A NEW TREND (Goals 3 and 4)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: THE UPS AND DOWNS (Goals 3 and 6)
6.) SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: A LOOK AT GENDER AND RACE-ETHNICITY (Goals 5
and 6)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) STANDARDS:  HELPING THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN (Goal 1) 
8.) LEARNING TO LEAD, LEADING TO LEARN": PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(Goal 4)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) TURNING POINTS: A LOOK AT ADOLESCENCE (Goal 3,4, and 8)
 


***FACT OF THE WEEK***
Between 1990 and 1997, the U.S. and 37 states (out of 49) significantly
reduced the percentages of infants born with one or more of four health
risks. 

--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999
http://www.negp.gov/reports/99rpt.pdf



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STATE POLICY NEWS
********************
1.) ******** VOC ED STUDENTS: LEFT BEHIND BY HIGH-STAKES EXAMS?
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

High-stakes exams do not "accurately account for the different ways in which
kids learn," said John Kosko, superintendent of the South Shore Vocational
Technical School in Hanover, Massachusetts (EDUCATION DAILY, 11/2).  Kosko
comments highlight his concern that beginning next spring all high school
sophomores in Massachusetts must pass the state exam, the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System test (MCAS).  "If vocational students spend
5 percent of their time studying subjects other than MCAS-related subjects,
how can the MCAS be used to determine their learning ability and whether
they should graduate?" he queried.

EDUCATION DAILY notes that the New York department of career and technical
education (CTE) is recommending ways for vocational education students to
pursue career programs at the same time they must meet stringent demands of
state exams.

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Education at
http://www.doe.mass.edu or the New York Department of Education at
http://www.nysed.gov.


2.) ******** VIRGINIA'S STANDARDS OF LEARNING: LOOKING FOR PROOF IN PUDDING
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

A committee formed to examine Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) found
the exams to be reliable but added that it is now time to see how they
contribute to a student's learning and academic future (Honawar, WASHINGTON
TIMES, 11/22).  Board of Education President Kirk T. Schroder said the
report of the six-member Technical Advisory Committee should "put to rest
unfounded criticism and fears" over the SOLs.  

While generally positive, the report questions the multiple-choice format
used in all the tests.  From the report:  "The SOL assessments are composed
exclusively of multiple choice questions.  Therefore, it is possible that
some of these standards are not fully reflected in these assessments."  The
report also raises concerns over the Virginia Board of Education's decision
to ensure that the state's two-week deadline for returning test results to
schools is met, saying the tight deadline could lead to errors when
computing the results, notes the paper.

Fore more information, visit the Virginia Department of Education at
http://www.pen.k12.va.us


*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************


3.) ******** STUDENT ID BADGES: A SCHOOL SAFETY ISSUE
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

More schools across the country are requiring high school students to wear
ID badges while on campus (Bower, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/21).
According to the paper, some teachers and administrators approve of the
badges because it makes it easier to spot an outsider.  Others say it helps
everyone know each others' name.  In many places, the ID badges also are
used to check out library books or purchase food at the cafeteria.   

One drawback to the cards is what to do when students forget them.  At
Pattonville High School, students get a warning and temporary badge for the
first time they forget their badge.  Parents are notified for the second
offense.  If a student forgets his or her badge a third time, they are given
either after-school detention or an in-school suspension.  

Deborah Hauser, chairman of the English department at Pattonville High
School, said the badges "have brought a renewed sense of identify with the
school for staff and students," writes the paper.

For more information, visit the St. Louis public schools at
http:\\dtdl.slps.k12.mo.us


4.) ******** INDIVIDUALIZED TESTING: A NEW TREND 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Four: Teacher Education and
Professional Development)


Teachers making "frequent and detailed assessments" of student work is
spreading throughout American classrooms, with the Success for All
Foundation leading the way, writes the WASHINGTON POST (Mathews, 11/21).
The Towson, Maryland-based group has its "strictly paced" system in place in
nearly 2,000 schools nationwide.  Every eight weeks, each child in the early
elementary grades is given a 20-minute oral exam.  Data from the assessments
are used to re-arrange reading groups, if necessary.  

Teachers at Georgian Forest Elementary school (Montgomery County, Maryland)
also use a second reading test called a "running record," which records a
child's reading errors.  Children struggling to read may receive a running
record on a daily basis.

Some schools also use frequent assessments in math.

For more information, visit the Montgomery County Public Schools at
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us


*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************


5.) ******** VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: THE UPS AND DOWNS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong
Learning)

A new Department of Education report shows a decline in high school
enrollment in vocational education classes throughout the 1980s and 1990s,
but the data is difficult to evaluate due to the wide range of courses that
constitute vocational education.  The percentage of students who completed
vocational education dropped from 33.7 percent to 25 percent, according to
the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES).

Yet, several factors "complicate" the data, notes EDUCATION DAILY.  For
example, vocational education courses can range from welding to computer
programming.  According to the report, the overall decline rates found
between 1982 and 1998 were primarily due to drops in the two largest
vocational areas - trade and industry (from 14.8 percent to 9.8 percent) and
business (from 11.6 percent to 4.8 percent).  Other vocational education
areas - health care, technology and communications, food service and
hospitality and childcare and education -- showed an increase.

For more information on the report Changes in High School Vocational
Coursetaking in a larger Perspective, visit NCES at http://www.nces.ed.gov.
Or, visit EDUCATION DAILY at http://www.eddaily.com.


6.) ******** SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: A LOOK AT GENDER AND RACE-ETHNICITY
(Goal Five: Math and Science and Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong
Learning)

Another National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report examines the
gaps related to gender and race-ethnicity in entry, persistence and
attainment of postsecondary science and engineering education.  First,
researchers examined the link between high school experience and entry into
a science and engineering postsecondary program to determine the extent to
which women and under represented minorities continue to have lower entry
rates in to science and engineering programs at the secondary level.

A second analysis was conducted to address issues relating to the
persistence and degree attainment by underrepresented minorities and women
in postsecondary science and engineering study.

For more information, visit NCES at http://www.nces.ed.gov.


*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************


7.) ******** STANDARDS:  HELPING THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)

At a National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
meeting this month, some education researchers pointed out that state
standards often overlook preschool- and early elementary-age children
because the standards are "crafted by middle and high school educators,"
writes EDUCATION WEEK (Jacobson, 11/22).   Diane Paynter, a senior associate
at Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), said her
group's research finds that K-2 state standards typically note the skills or
knowledge that children master by the end of second grade, without
specifying the "underlying knowledge" that educators need to help children
reach that point.

McREL, a regional education lab funded by the U.S. Department of Education
has produced A Framework for Early Literacy Instruction that provides more
detailed guidance around early literacy instruction than afforded by
currently available national and state standards documents.

For more information, visit NAEYC at http://www.naeyc.org or McREL at
http://www.mcrel.org.


8.) ******** "LEARNING TO LEAD, LEADING TO LEARN": PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) has released a new report that
calls on improving school quality through principal professional
development.  Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn holds that principals today
must not only handle school management and administration but also be able
"to coach, teach, and develop the teachers in their schools."

The report includes a series of recommendations for the federal and state
governments and for schools, networks and districts.

For more information and a copy of the report, visit NSDC at
http://www.nsdc.org.


*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************


9.) ******** TURNING POINTS: A LOOK AT ADOLESCENCE
(Goal Three: Student Achievement, Goal Four: Teacher Education and
Professional Development and Goal Eight: Parent Involvement)

Coming a decade after Carnegie's first Turning Points report that served as
a catalyst for middle school reform, the Carnegie Corporation of New York
this month released the latest in this series, Turning Points 2000:
Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century.  This volume calls for a rigorous
curriculum, instructional methods that will prepare all students to achieve
higher standards, targeted professional development opportunities for
teachers and involved parents and communities, amount other items.  

"Turning Points 2000 provides a perfect blend of practical guidance and
grand vision, looking with hope toward a day when the developmental needs of
all children are met," said Dr. James Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child
Psychiatry, Yale Child Study Center.  "The authors skillfully bridge the gap
between research and practice as they share strategies for families,
communities and institutions to collaboratively prepare adolescents for
life."  

The report's recommendations for middle grades include:

*  Teach a curriculum grounded in rigorous, public academic standards for
what students should know and be able to do, relevant to the concerns of
adolescents and based on how students learn best. 
*  Use instructional methods designed to prepare all students to achieve
higher standards and become lifelong learners. 
*  Staff middle grades schools with teachers who are expert at teaching
young adolescents, and engage teachers in ongoing, targeted professional
development opportunities. 
*  Organize relationships for learning to create a climate of intellectual
development and a caring community of shared educational purpose. 
*  Govern democratically, through direct or representative participation by
all school staff members, the adults who know the students best. 
*  Provide a safe and healthy school environment as part of improving
academic performance and developing caring and ethical citizens. 
*  Involve parents and communities in supporting student learning and
healthy development.

"There is mounting evidence that when educators stay the course of
comprehensive reform, student outcomes improve," said Davis, former national
director of the Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative (MGSSPI). 

"If we have learned anything over the past 10 years, it is that gains in
student achievement and other positive outcomes for students require
comprehensive implementation of reforms over an extended period of time,"
Davis reported. "Moreover, comprehensive reform is difficult work, fraught
with unanticipated barriers. Yet, we are seeing some successes."

"If [the authors'] deep understanding of what's needed and what works for
adolescents were shared by every policy maker and educator, we would indeed
see a major transformation in the education of our young" said Linda
Darling-Hammond, Stanford University. "This book is a must-read for everyone
who works with children and youth. For that matter, it's essential for
everyone who cares about the health of our young people and our society." 

The book indicates that effective instruction must mesh with three other
aspects:  "the standards and resulting curriculum outlining what student
should learn; the assessments students will use to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills; and the needs, interests and learning styles of the
students themselves."

For more information visit the National Middle School Association at
http://www.nmsa.org.


************************************
The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel 
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502 
Washington, DC 20037; 
202-724-0015 

NEGP Executive Director: Ken Nelson 
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape 
http://www.negp.gov 
************************************

The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction and
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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL? 
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals. 

WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to: 
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals. 
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments. 
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies. 
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take. 
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals. 

WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS? 
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are: 
1) All children will start school ready to learn. 
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%. 
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter. 
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need. 
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate. 
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol. 
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation. 

WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
 
The current Panel Members are Governors Tommy G. Thompson, WI (Chair, 2000);
John Engler, MI; Jim Geringer, WY; James B. Hunt, Jr., NC; Frank Keating,
OK; Frank O'Bannon, IN; Paul E. Patton, KY; Cecil H. Underwood, WV;
Secretary of Education Richard Riley; Michael Cohen, U.S. Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education; U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S. Representative William F.
Goodling, PA; U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martinez, CA; Representative G.
Spencer Coggs, WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative
Douglas R. Jones, ID;
Senator Stephen Stoll, MO. 

The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
http://www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet.


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